Electric fan



May 12, 1931. c, mGw 1,805,105

ELECTRIC FAN Filed Sept. 50, 1929 mVENTpR d am Patented May 12, 1931 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE RINGWALD, 01* NORTH HAMPTON, onIo, ASSIGNOR 'rononnrns a'ivrxnns, J 1110., on SPRINGFIELD, omo, a conrona'rron or OHIO nnno'rmc ran Application filed September 30,-.1929. "serial No. 396,077. 9

This invention relates to electric fans for ventilating purposes.

The object of my invention is to provlde a mounting for a fan which will serve the purpose of supporting the electric motor, as a guard for the fan and as means for con: trolling the air flow.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fan of this kind of a portable character having a' base adapted to set upon a desk, table or other similar structure, the base directly supporting the fan and guard casing and the casing in turn supporting the motor and fan.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front-elevation of a fan employed in my improvements with'the mounting partly broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section.

Figs. 3 and 4 are side elevations on a reduced scale showing the effect on the air flow by the improved controlling device for the Fig. 5, is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective of the air controlling device.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a cylindrical casing open at the front and rear provided with a base 2 which is secured thereto in any suitable manner. This casing supports the fan motor 3 through a series of radially extending arms 4: which are connected with the frame of the motor and also with an inturned flange 5 on the rear side of the casing. The forward side of the casing is provided with a series of bars 6 arranged in artistic fashion which cooperate with the casing to form a guard for the fan. The casing and. its inturned flange 5 as well as the bars 6 are all preferably formed from an integral piece of sheet metal. I

In the operation of fans having blades of the character shown which are unconfined, the air is discharged from the fan in the approximate form of a cone whose apex is near the center of the fan on the discharge side thereof and whose axis is coincident with the axis of rotation of the fan. In this case theair' which replaces the misplaced air flows toward the fan from the rear or motor side andalsoinwardly toward the center of the fan in a'direction perpendicular to the axis thereof, the major percentage of the air mov-- ing in the last named direction. -While' this form of discharge is effective for ventilating a comparatively wide area, it is desirable in some cases to. discharge the air'in a more di- 1 rect manner, as for instance where the .fan is employed for-directinga blast of air toward a desk from a point somewhat removed from the desk. 'It has been found that if means are-employed tocontrol the inflow of air in eitheror both of the two named points, the 1 character of the discharge will be altered, the

preferable and more practicalway being to provide means for dampening the flow ofair towardethe center ofthe'fanin a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof.

. In the cylindrical sideof the casing preferably about the entire periphery thereof ex-r cepting at the place where the base is connectedare formed a series of openings 8, each preferably substantially rectangular in area with the longer dimension parallel to the axis of the fan. A. cylindrical strip 9 having a series of similar openings 10 is rotatably secured on the inner surface of the cylindrical side of the casing which may have a knob 9 .attached thereto and projecting through a slotted opening in the flange 5 for the purpose of rotating the same. The opening 10 may be in complete registry with the openin '8 allowing a maximum flow of air througfl the openings or the opening 8 may be closed whereby all of the air circulated must flow into the fan from the rear. The effect of adjusting the strip to provide a maximum opening through the peripher of the casing is to discharge the air as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3 so that a blast of air may be directed to a given point. ()n the other hand if the strip is adjusted to completely close the opening a maximum diffusion or distribution of the air over a wide area is secured as shown by the arrows in Fig. 4..

Any desired distribution of the discharged air between the minimum and maximum points illustrated may be secured by proper By this arrangement it will be seen that it is possible to secure variations of the discharge of the air from the extreme of a compact cylindrical, mass to the extreme of a 5 widely diffused conical flow. It will also be seen that in addition to this feature provision is made for guarding the fan andsupporting the motor in a way which makes the device simple in construction, economical in manu- 10 facture and "readilyportable.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a portable ventilating fan, a base adapted to set on a desk or similar structure,

15 a cylindrical casing attached to said base and extending. upwardly therefrom, an electric motornand fan supported rigidlyby said casing with the fan housed by said casing, said casing being open at its ends: and also having.

a air admission openingsabout its periphery, and means for regulating the size of said peripheral openings. Y c

2. In a I portable ventilating fan, a baseadapted to set on a desk or similar strucu ture, a vertically. disposed cylindrical casing attachedto th'e base extending upwardly therefrom with its ends open, an 'electric'motor, arms for supporting-the motor rigidly from the casing with the motor: disposed :0 mainly outside of said casing, a fan attached to the motor shaft and housed by said casing,- a "grill-like member arranged on the'opposite end of said casing, the periphery of'said casing havingfa plurality of openings; and'a 31f damper rotatablymoimted in said casing to re u-late the size of said openings.

in testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of September'1929r CLARENCE RINGVVALD. 

